We will have informal open virtual chat meetings each Saturday morning, 10 am to noon until we do not have social distancing restrictions in place. See you at our chats every Saturday in June.(Link for July 4th)
Medical Masks and Physical Distance Strategies Link
COVID-19: Video-Based Telehealth Accessibility for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Patients. Link
Your doctor may ask you to stay home and talk to your doctor through online video. Here are some helpful tips.
A guide to group video calling apps for hearing loss: Link
In Memorium:
Tom Wollenweber
(July 15, 1931 - June 22, 2020
Chapter member and father of Susan Dezelan, our gracious meeting transcriber.
We hold fond memories of your time with us.
Coping Help from HLAA during Corona virus pandemic.
Hearing loss is isolating enough and now we are further separated with the stay-at-home orders. HLAA is creating online resources and adding free captioned webinars and support sessions to help our members and constituents through this crisis.
HLAA-Indy Seeks $ for Transparent Face Masks
During this time of Coronavirus, face masks are becoming the norm; however, a face mask can be a communication barrier. Let’s open the world of communication to people with hearing loss (deaf and hard of hearing people make up about 15 percent of the population), people who communicate non-verbally, and others who also rely on seeing lip/tongue/jaw movements for speech understanding. With the growing use of masks in medical facilities and greater society let’s not leave those who rely on facial expression out of the communication loop and possibly at risk. Transparent masks will help facilitate effective communication.
Please join us in making a difference. Money raised will go towards purchasing material, shipping, and handling. Any extra will go toward Hospital Kits for people with hearing loss and other activities that improve communication access.
Any donation will help make a positive impact. We appreciate your generosity! Donate now.
Please Help Us Reach Our Goal.
Please Send in Your Comments to Get Hearing Loops on US Rail Vehicles.
The Government wants to have your input.
It is most important that your opinion is voiced.
The mission of the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities is to advance the independence, productivity and inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of society. To do this, the Council identifies problems or needs that should be addressed. These problems or needs are agreed upon by our board members and identified in GCPD's 5-Year State Plan. This State Plan is used to create specific grant proposals.
The 5-Year State Plan Public Survey will be the first step in identifying problems and needs. The Council believes it is important to know what people like you find important.
We have broken the surveys out into three separate groups: People with Disabilities; Parents, Family Members, and Guardians; and Disability Professionals and Other Stakeholders. We know that there are absolutely people who fit into more than one of those categories! We ask that you fill out the survey that you feel the most comfortable identifying with; please do not fill out more than one survey.
Our testers have reported that the survey may take as little as 10 minutes, or as long as 45 minutes, to fill out. Please make sure that you set aside enough time to fully make your opinions count! Like the Census, this is a way to help make sure that you have a say in your government and your community!
The surveys are here:
- Survey for People with Disabilities
- Survey for Parents, Family Members, and Guardians
- Survey for Disability Professionals and Other Stakeholders
We also have a short version that gets the bare bones of our needs--the long one is more useful, but we understand that not everyone has a lot of time to give. We appreciate any answers we receive!
Thank you for your time, your input, and your comments!
Please sign the petition to support free auto captions on video conferencing platforms for people with hearing loss.
Please join us!
We are a NEW local Chapter.
Connecting hearing aids to computers and tablets.
Inclusion Statement from the Indy Chapter Board
"Just as the loss of hearing affects all cross-sections of our population, the HLAA Indianapolis Board of Directors is committed to implementing the ideal that diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our organization. We provide support, education and advocacy for our members and the hard of hearing community and look to find effective solutions to enhance equity and inclusion for people of color and other marginalized groups within our Chapter and society."
Teresa Gonzalez, Paula Sutton, Cindy Helmich, Ella Hurrell
Seminars, advocacy for the Hard of Hearing community, social events, support & volunteer opportunities
- you are never alone in your hearing loss- 48 million people in U.S. have it
- meet a new friend
- learn technology for hearing loss
Contact us: info@HLAA-Indianapolis.org
HLAA-Indianapolis is an affiliate of HLAA National. Please visit www.hearingloss.org for the National webpage.
Our mission is to open up the world of communication to people with hearing loss by providing education, information, support and advocacy.
We believe sharing our hearing loss journeys through socialization, advocacy, information, and education is important for hearing health. Our organization is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization offering support to all ages who have hearing loss.
There are over 48 million people in the United States who have hearing loss. Today one in five people have hearing loss. The National Hearing Loss Association of America has existed for over 30 years helping people learn how to best cope. It used to be called the Self Help Hard of Hearing (SHHH) organization when it started. In addition, through our advocacy efforts, affiliates located in all 50 states we have made monumental changes in recent years through legislation and policy on behalf of those with hearing loss.
Come learn more about us and meet new friends who have hearing loss.
We also offer volunteer opportunities to serve the community. If you are interested, please contact us.
Our Chapter President, Teresa Gonzalez, would like to share this exciting news:
Our chapter is honored to be the recipient of the 2020 HLAA Up and Coming Chapter Award! The award will be presented at the HLAA 2021 Convention in San Diego next year at the Awards Ceremony and Reception.
The Up and Coming Chapter Award is presented to a new chapter (under 2 years old), which most effectively delivers the HLAA mission for its members and the community. This award recognizes chapters for their overall programs that have opened the world of communication for local people with hearing loss through information, education, support and advocacy.
Thank you for your donations for GIVING TUESDAY during May
We show our gratitude to you all. Thank You.
HLAA-Indianapolis Chapter
HLAA – Indianapolis Chapter Meetings for 2020
All meetings are on 1st Saturdays of the month.
We have VIRTUAL Meetings during the Social Isolation period extending into June.
Virtual Meeting links below.
Location when not in social isolation: Irvington Public Library (5625 East Washington St., Indianapolis IN 46219)
All meetings provide CART text displayed on large screen & StreamText LIVE to cell phone/computer (Paste www.streamtext.net/player?event=HLAA into any browser to read live captioning of meeting.)
(During Social Isolation period virtual meetings are from 10:15 am to noon)
Virtual Meetings HAVE CLOSED CAPTIONS.
During July and beyond informal, social chat meetings will be held Virtually by TELECONFERENCING every Saturday morning, 10am to Noon. Friends, guests and members are welcome to join in the chat.
Next informal chat meeting is July 4th LINK to join https://meet.google.com/dki-xrjz-jmw (short 1 hr)
Copy this to any browser to join the meeting. Guests are welcome.
July 11th Meeting:- 10am meeting room open, starting at 10:15 am. Dr. Scott Sanders from BalanceMD, will talk about Meniere's Disease. BIO
LINK to join the meeting: http://meet.google.com/saa-thnr-ttc
Eventbrite meeting notification Link
Nextdoor App- notification of meeting Link
August 1st Meeting: Speaker: Matt Goncalves from Innocaption will speak at 11 am
September 5th Meeting: Mentoring and Support.
October 3rd Meeting: Mentoring and Support.
Nov 7th Meeting, extended until 2pm: Thanksgiving Potluck. Mentoring and Support. (Tentative)
Dec 5th Meeting, extended until 2 pm: Holiday Potluck & White Elephant gift exchange. Mentoring and Support. (Tentative)
Our meetings are advertised online in Eventbrite.com info and Nextdoor info. Take a look.
ALL meetings in 2020 will be held at Irvington Public Library.
Schedule content may be subject to change.
ANYONE CAN JUST COME TO A MEETING.
YOU ARE ALL MOST WELCOME.
Meeting Location after social distancing ceases:
Irvington Public Library: 5625 East Washington St Indianapolis 46219
Irvington Public Library
Follow every chapter meeting LIVE & remotely with StreamText
Paste:
www.streamtext.net/player?event=HLAA
into any browser to read live captioning during a chapter meeting.
More about us:
Our Chapter was well represented at the "Listening & Spoken Language" conference in Indianapolis Feb 22, 2020.
Our Newsletter is just one of the benefits of joining our Chapter.
Submit your articles for the Summer edition to editor@hlaa-indianapolis.org by June 10th 2020
The Indy Voice- Spring 2020 Newsletter.pdf
Our meetings are a place where you can feel comfortable with others who have hearing loss too.
You are never alone!
Regular meetings are held with live captioning displayed on an overhead screen for members to follow.
Thank you to our Remote CART* provider, Susan Wollenweber Dezelan, who kindly does our meeting captions, gratis.
*CART stands for Communication Access Realtime Translation. CART is a service in which a certified CART provider listens to speech and instantaneously translates all the speech to text.
Meetings also have a StreamText link to provide live captioning during a meeting in order for anyone to follow via their device. (smartphone/computer/iPad etc.)
Surveys – Your Input is Valuable
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Southwest ADA Center is conducting research to investigate the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Center is asking people who have personal or professional experience on disability issues to complete this survey.
Share Your TV Viewing Experiences
A TV service provider along with Horowitz Research wants to better understand the needs of TV viewers with different hearing needs in order to help provide more accessible features with their entertainment platform. Please complete this short survey. It should not take more than 10 minutes and all information given will be held in the strictest confidence.
Please use the “Continue” button at the bottom of the survey page to move from page to page. Do not use your browser's Back and Forward buttons. If you can't log on, or have any problems or concerns, please contact research@horowitzresearch.com. Thank you. Your input is important.
Privacy and Confidentiality: Horowitz Research is a full-service market research firm that values your privacy. All of your responses will be kept confidential and only reported in aggregate. Your personal information will not be sold or traded to any direct mail companies.
Donate your old Hearing Aids.
Hearing Aid Donation Center.pdfDonate your old hearing aid (link to above form) when you attend our chapter meetings. We are a donation center for hearing Charities of America. www.HearingAidDonations.org All donations are tax deductible and you will receive a letter of acknowledgement.
Other ways to support this Chapter:
Add HLAA-Indianapolis Chapter as your charity of choice to your Amazon account and help us achieve our mission with every Amazon purchase. Click on the link below and HLAA-Indianapolis Chapter will be added once you log into your Amazon account. Thank you.
Nominate us as your favorite charity when using ebay. You can donate any percentage you chose of any of your ebay sales/purchases to go to us. Click on the logo above.
Thank You For Your Support.
Thank you to the Gendale Staples store Manager, Christopher Israel, for printing our special event flyers.
Thank you Susan Dezelan and to Caption First's Kathy Cortopassi, for being our Remote CART providers. We are most grateful for the donation of your time and skill.
HLAA membership is complimentary for Veterans
As we observe Veterans Day this year, we would like to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to all of the men an women who currently serve or have served our country.
Veterans Across America Virtual Chapter
HLAA has a virtual chapter, specifically for Veteran members (and caregivers)! Members of this online chapter can log-in remotely, collaborate with others on projects, join discussions, delegate tasks, and more. You can find out more about the new HLAA Veterans Across America Virtual Chapter on the Veteranspage. If you are interested in joining the virtual chapter, please email chapters@hearingloss.org.
